Busy period for crime prevention and community policing

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Good Afternoon Everyone,

The past two weeks have been in Crime Prevention and Community Policing. Please remember to report suspicious vehicles or people around seasonal locations and highway.

Police and Senior Safety - Each Tuesday has been the Police and Senior Safety Academy in Springhill. Just about 40 Seniors are attending these sessions weekly. The conversations, stories and information sharing has been great. This week 8 youth from Springhill High School attended and participated in a discussion on life for a teenager, then and now.The hour was full of questions from both sides.

April 22 to 24 we held a Cops N Kids Leadership weekend event for the High Schools in Cumberland. The youth are mainly selected from school talks, youth advisory groups or other leadership groups in schools. This year, just about 90 youth attended from seven schools. The weekend was a huge success. Please read the brief release below.

Cops N Kids Leadership weekend wraps up

April 28th, 2016, Cumberland County, NS……..Youths from every high school in Cumberland County met this past weekend for the Cumberland District RCMP Cops N Kids Leadership Weekend. The event is held at the Tim Hortons Childrens' Camp in Tatamagouche. A huge thank you to the staff and camp leaders from the Camp for the support. This year, almost 90 youth participated in camp.

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▪ Over the course of three days and two nights, the kids engaged in several discussions with support from 19 adults made up mainly of restorative justice, police officers and educators. The RCMP ICE Unit (Integrated Child Exploitation) had an interactive discussions with the youth on sex and the law. Other discussions were based around healthy relationships, violence in relationships, bullying, cyber bullying, empathy, gender roles, stereotypes and consent. Sunday morning was a reflection on the weekend where youth engaged in talks about the future and acceptance of each other.

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▪ The campers engaged in numerous team building exercises and success was seen in the smiles and open conversations. One camp member wrote “Thank you for bringing us all together as one BIG Happy Family!”...another added, “thanks for the awesome weekend and for (everyone) helping out our school”. The camp ended with campers wrapping the weekend up and sharing comments and stories. Each one making new connections, friends and hoping to return in 2017.

DREAMS TAKE FLIGHT - a Trip to Disney happened this week. A few months ago I was contacted by another RCMP Officer volunteering with Dreams Take Flight. I was given four seats for the County and we randomly selected the youth to attend. The trip was a whole day in Disney! Four youth from Oxford, Springhill and River Hebert were lucky enough to attend and they all had a blast! Each youth was outfitted in new shoes, clothes and hoodies with each receiving a backpack of goodies on the way home. I was lucky enough to drive a few youth to and from the airport and the stories they were telling were amazing.

COPS FOR CANCER - A meeting was held this week for a fall event. Police, emergency and community services personnel continue to help drive the Cops for Cancer program by organizing events throughout the country. The events range from head shaves to participating in bike rides such as Pedal for Hope to organizing various school-based fundraising activities. We are planning a pancake breakfast/head shave/ball tournament on October 15, 2016 in Springhill. As the date gets closer more information will be shared. If you know a first responder who wants to get involved, please have them contact me for details.

APRIL - Sexual Violence Awareness Month - the month ended with the Cops N Kids camp as above. Throughout the month several conversations were had regarding sexual violence, language, gender and sterotypes. The conversation needs to continue. For more details please call me or the Sexual Health Centre for Cumberland County at (902) 667-7500.

MAY 2 to 8 - MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS WEEK. The Canadian Mental Health Association, CMHA, introduced Mental Health Week (MHW) in 1951 to raise awareness of mental illness in Canada. Today, MHW offers practical ways to maintain and improve mental health and support recovery from mental illness and addictions. The Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA), founded in 1918, is one of the oldest voluntary organizations in Canada. Each year, it provides direct service to more than 100,000 Canadians through the combined efforts of more than 10,000 volunteers and staff in 140-plus communities.

May 17th - Police Week Event at the mall. This event is an annual event and runs from 10 am to 4 pm. Exhibits and booths from partnering agencies will be on hand to talk to the public.

May 19th and 20th - Police Officers from the RCMP and Amherst Police will join forces for an epic showdown....of basketball! We have several schools lined up over two days to play mini games vs the kids.